TYPICAL BENGALI HESEL.. RANNABANNA

Rice and fish are traditional favorite foods, fish and rice make a Bengali. Bengal's vast repertoire of fish-based dishes includes preparations, a favorite among Bengalis. Bengalis make distinctive from milk products, including, Chômchôm,Kalojam, rasgollaand several kinds ofare specialties of winter season. Sweets like coconut-naru, til-naru, moa, payees, etc. are prepared during the festival of Lakshmi puja. Popular(rice soaked overnight in water) with onion & green chili is a traditional dish consumed in rural areas. Common spices found in a Bengali kitchen are, etc. People of erstwhile use a lot of ajmoda, coriander leaves, tamarind, coconut and mustard in their cooking; while those aboriginal from West Bengal use a lot of sugar, gram masala and red chili powder. Vegetarian dishes are mostly without onion and garlic. The style of food preparation in West Bengal is different from other parts of the country. Bengalis are famous for various preparations of fresh water fishes. The cuisines are rich in specialized spices and flavors giving unique tastes. The Bengali meals include fish curryprepared with spices and chilies. Snacks include Singada, Beguni, Piazi, Muri and Pudi. The major attractions of the city are Jhal Muri, Rasagolla, Sandesh and Misti Doi.The Christian influence came to Bengal a few hundred years after its arrival on the Western borders of India. While the religion propagated in the populace, the region remained isolated from the political and religious centres of Christian India. This meant that people retained many of their local customs and especially food habits. Though the Dutch and the French also had colonies in West Bengal, they have had little impact on Bengal's culinary habits. That came from the British, and other Western immigrants such as the Baghdadi Jews who set up Kolkata's famous Jewish Bakeries. West Bengal's flourishing community of Anglo-Indians formed a once-influential cuisine, but it is now dying along with the reduction in numbers of their communities.The key culinary influence of the Christian community was the ritual of tea (introduced by the British and now central to Bengali identity), and in Bengal's snack food traditions. Baking, which was pretty much unknown till the British came along, became widespread. The popularity of baked confectioneries was a direct result of the British popularising the celebration of Christmas. The Jewish community, though always tiny in numbers, picked up the trend and made it hugely popular to the masses - now every railway station in West Bengal serves puff pastries to go with tea to millions of commuters across the state. Chops and cutlets, once British in origin but now firmly Bengali, are served every day in every little shack. The pound cake is a treat every kid has grown up stealing. Kolkata's big Jewish bakeries are dead or dying, but their influence is everywhere.

Kolkata came into prominence in Western eyes as the original capital of . The city quickly became one of the largest and richest in the world, completely overshadowing Dhaka. After partition, Kolkata continued to wield an outsize influence in the cultural and food habits of West Bengal. Its offices, ports and bazaars attracted many communities from the rest of India, most notably the Marwari community, millions of whom have made the city their home for three generations. Their influence has been, in particular, in the sweet shops (e.g. Ganguram's)and street foods of Kolkata and West Bengal; many famous sweet shops in the state have Marwari origins.